From the California Water Blog – Droughts are extreme, but not necessarily extreme events — at least not in the way we humans usually experience events as discrete, episodic occurrences. Droughts are continuous and exhausting; they can come out of nowhere and take us on a rollercoaster of waiting for precipitation to come, measuring when it does, and hoping it will be enough to keep our rivers flowing for human use and healthy ecosystems. Droughts may feel so extreme that they should be a rare occurrence, but they are a natural part of California climate. To effectively and reliably manage water, we need to know (1) how much water needs to be in a river to protect species and ecosystems, (2) how much water is actually in the river, and (3) what is the gap between the two? There is currently a group of scientists from universities, agencies, and NGOs that developed a framework and set of tools to answer the first question for all rivers in California – known as the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF). (more)